‘You Gotta Be Kidding!’ Gavin Newsom Gets Worked Up Over ‘Damning’ Talk of Replacing Biden On Ticket, Blames Fox News ‘Anger Machine’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday that the speculation and questions about him or someone else replacing President Joe Biden as the party nominee in 2024 is a sideshow” being “ginned up” by the right and Fox News, and a “damning” conversation to even have.

Newsom, who in such conversations is usually the frontrunner as a Biden substitute, appeared on Meet the Press Sunday with NBC News anchor Kristen Welker, during which Welker broached the subject of replacing Biden — topic for which the California Democrat had a ready, prepared answer.

Following a damning special counsel report that brought up serious questions about Biden’s age and fitness — questions shared by large numbers of American voters in poll after poll — the topic of replacing Biden at the top of the ticket has been taken more seriously, with articles at the New York Times and other major publications discussing or even urging the drastic action.

Welker cited a report from The Washington Post on “anxious Democrats” reaching out to “top Biden donors” and asking “When is Gavin getting in?”

Before Welker could even finish her question, Newsom was already putting on a perturbed face.

“The buzz has not stopped. I know you’ve been asked this before, but do you still rule out a run in 2024?” Welker asked.

“You gotta be kidding. I am here celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration,” he objected. “It’s all idle chatter. It’s all a — you know what? That’s a sideshow. I think what Democrats need to do is worry less, do more.”

Welker pressed him on whether he is truly “ruling it out a hundred percent,” and Newsom continued to adopt an offended tone.

“Hundred? I mean it’s not even an interesting conversation, okay,” he said. “By the way, I think it’s a damning conversation, frankly, the other side wants us to have. And trust me, I know the mishegoss coming from the other side. I’m deeply mindful of the anger machine and all the entertainment industry out there on Fox and elsewhere. They love ginning this stuff up.”

Despite that claim, the question has been a hot topic on the left and among Democrats for months, in the press and, as Welker pointed out, behind closed doors among top Democrats.

WELKER: Let’s talk about you, governor. Days after that special counsel report came out questioning the president’s age and his memory. The Washington Post reported that anxious Democrats reached out to top Biden donors to ask, quote, “When is Gavin getting in? Or how about Whitmer? Or Shapiro?” The buzz has not stopped. I know you’ve been asked this before, but do you still rule out a run in 2024?

NEWSOM: You gotta be kidding. I am here celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration, making the case that we need to make to lift up the issues, lift up the record, drive contrast with the Republican nominee-to-be Donald Trump? So that we can win for four more years.

WELKER: Have you gotten any calls, Governor, urging you to run?

NEWSOM: It’s all idle chatter. It’s all a — you know what? That’s a sideshow. I think what Democrats need to do is worry less, do more. Continue to overperform as we have, continue to win. Make the case. Don’t be ashamed. A 4.1% GDP over the last two quarters? Don’t be ashamed about the alliance management of the Biden-Harris administration. Don’t be timid about making the case for the record of this administration.

WELKER: So you’re ruling it out a hundred percent.

NEWSOM: Hundred? I mean it’s not even an interesting conversation, okay. By the way, I think it’s a damning conversation, frankly, the other side wants us to have. And trust me, I know the mishegoss coming from the other side. I’m deeply mindful of the anger machine and all the entertainment industry out there on Fox and elsewhere. They love ginning this stuff up.

At the end of the day, not only is this train left the station, but we are, we get to enjoy a record of accomplishments as we make the case in a reelection the likes of which we couldn’t even have dreamt of, even as a Democrat, last century.

Watch the clip above, via Meet the Press.